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Abstract:

An information delivery apparatus is provided, including a receiving
portion to receive location information of a mobile communication
terminal at a given time and acquired date and time of the location
information from the terminal, an event information storage portion to
store event information including an event place, date and time, a
delivery terminal selecting portion to select the mobile communication
terminal to which the event information is to be delivered based on the
location information and the acquired date and time of the location
information and on the event place, date and time, and an event
information delivery portion to deliver the event information to the
selected mobile communication terminal. The delivery terminal selecting
portion selects the mobile communication terminal whose location
indicated by location information is within a predetermined range and
whose acquired date and time of the location information are before the
event date and time.

Claims:

1-14. (canceled)

15. An information delivery apparatus comprising: at least one
communication interface configured to receive location information
indicative of a location of a terminal; at least one storage configured
to store event information indicative of a location and a time of an
event; and at least one controller configured to: compute an amount of
travel time for traveling from the location of the terminal to the
location of the event; determine a reminder time to send a reminder to
the terminal based at least in part on the time of the event and the
amount of travel time computed; and control the communication interface
to send the reminder to the terminal at the determined reminder time.

16. The information delivery apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:
the location information is current location information indicative of a
current location of the terminal; the at least one communication
interface is further configured to receive past location information
indicative of a past location of the terminal; and the at least one
controller is further configured to select the terminal based at least in
part on the past location of the terminal and the location of the event.

17. The information delivery apparatus according to claim 15, wherein:
the event information further comprises descriptive information regarding
the event; the at least one storage is further configured to store
attribute information of a user of the terminal; and the at least one
controller is further configured to select the terminal based at least in
part on the attribute information and the descriptive information
regarding the event.

18. The information delivery apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the
at least one controller is further configured to select a predetermined
number of terminals to which reminders regarding the event are to be
sent.

19. An information delivery method comprising acts of: receiving location
information indicative of a location of a terminal; accessing event
information indicative of a location and a time of an event; and
computing an amount of travel time for traveling from the location of the
terminal to the location of the event; determining a reminder time to
send a reminder to the terminal based at least in part on the time of the
event and the amount of travel time computed; and controlling the
communication interface to send the reminder to the terminal at the
determined reminder time.

20. The information delivery method according to claim 19, wherein the
location information is current location information indicative of a
current location of the terminal, and wherein the method further
comprises: receiving past location information indicative of a past
location of the terminal; and selecting the terminal based at least in
part on the past location of the terminal and the location of the event.

21. The information delivery method according to claim 19, wherein the
event information further comprises descriptive information regarding the
event, and wherein the method further comprises: accessing attribute
information of a user of the terminal; and selecting the terminal based
at least in part on the attribute information and the descriptive
information regarding the event.

22. The information delivery method according to claim 19, further
comprising: selecting a predetermined number of terminals to which
reminders regarding the event are to be sent.

23. At least one computer-readable storage device comprising instructions
that, when executed by at least one processor, perform an information
delivery method comprising acts of: receiving location information
indicative of a location of a terminal; accessing event information
indicative of a location and a time of an event; and computing an amount
of travel time for traveling from the location of the terminal to the
location of the event; determining a reminder time to send a reminder to
the terminal based at least in part on the time of the event and the
amount of travel time computed; and controlling the communication
interface to send the reminder to the terminal at the determined reminder
time.

24. The at least one computer-readable storage device according to claim
23, wherein the location information is current location information
indicative of a current location of the terminal, and wherein the method
further comprises: receiving past location information indicative of a
past location of the terminal; and selecting the terminal based at least
in part on the past location of the terminal and the location of the
event.

25. The at least one computer-readable storage device according to claim
23, wherein the event information further comprises descriptive
information regarding the event, and wherein the method further
comprises: accessing attribute information of a user of the terminal; and
selecting the terminal based at least in part on the attribute
information and the descriptive information regarding the event.

26. The at least one computer-readable storage device according to claim
23, wherein the method further comprises: selecting a predetermined
number of terminals to which reminders regarding the event are to be
sent.

27. An information receiving apparatus comprising: at least one
communication interface configured to receive event information
indicative of a location and a time of an event; at least one storage
configured to store the received event information; at least one location
sensor configured to acquire location information indicative of a
location of the information receiving apparatus; at least one display
configured to display a reminder regarding the event; and at least one
controller configured to: compute an amount of travel time for traveling
from the location of the information receiving apparatus to the location
of the event; determine, based at least in part on the time of the event
and the amount of travel time computed, a display time to display the
reminder; and control the at least one display to display the reminder if
it is determined that the display time is after a current time.

28. The information receiving apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least
one controller is further configured to control the at least one display
to display the reminder at the display time.

29. The information receiving apparatus of claim 27, wherein: the
location information is first location information indicative of a first
location of the information receiving apparatus; the amount of travel
time is a first amount of travel time; the display time is a first
display time; and the at least one controller is further configured to:
if it is determined that the first display time is after the current
time, control the at least one location sensor to acquire second location
information indicative of a second location of the information receiving
apparatus; compute a second amount of travel time for traveling from the
second location of the information receiving apparatus to the location of
the event; and determine, based at least in part on the time of the event
and the second amount of travel time, a second display time to display
the reminder.

30. The information receiving apparatus of claim 27, wherein: the
location information is first location information indicative of a first
location of the information receiving apparatus; the amount of travel
time is a first amount of travel time; the display time is a first
display time; and the at least one controller is further configured to:
after controlling the at least one display to display the reminder at the
first display time, control the at least one location sensor to acquire
second location information indicative of a second location of the
information receiving apparatus; compute a second amount of travel time
for traveling from the second location of the information receiving
apparatus to the location of the event; and determine, based at least in
part on the time of the event and the second amount of travel time, a
second display time to display the reminder.

31. An information receiving method comprising: receiving event
information indicative of a location and a time of an event; acquiring
location information indicative of a location of an information receiving
apparatus; computing an amount of travel time for traveling from the
location of the information receiving apparatus to the location of the
event; determining, based at least in part on the time of the event and
the amount of travel time computed, a display time to display a reminder
regarding the event; and controlling at least one display to display the
reminder if it is determined that the display time is after a current
time.

32. The information receiving method of claim 31, further comprising:
controlling the at least one display to display the reminder at the
display time.

33. The information receiving method of claim 31, wherein: the location
information is first location information indicative of a first location
of the information receiving apparatus; the amount of travel time is a
first amount of travel time; the display time is a first display time;
and the method further comprises: if it is determined that the first
display time is after the current time, controlling the at least one
location sensor to acquire second location information indicative of a
second location of the information receiving apparatus; computing a
second amount of travel time for traveling from the second location of
the information receiving apparatus to the location of the event; and
determining, based at least in part on the time of the event and the
second amount of travel time, a second display time to display the
reminder.

34. The information receiving method of claim 31, wherein: the location
information is first location information indicative of a first location
of the information receiving apparatus; the amount of travel time is a
first amount of travel time; the display time is a first display time;
and the method further comprises: after controlling the at least one
display to display the reminder at the first display time, controlling
the at least one location sensor to acquire second location information
indicative of a second location of the information receiving apparatus;
computing a second amount of travel time for traveling from the second
location of the information receiving apparatus to the location of the
event; and determining, based at least in part on the time of the event
and the second amount of travel time, a second display time to display
the reminder.

35. At least one computer-readable storage device comprising instructions
that, when executed by at least one processor, perform an information
receiving method comprising: receiving event information indicative of a
location and a time of an event; acquiring location information
indicative of a location of an information receiving apparatus; computing
an amount of travel time for traveling from the location of the
information receiving apparatus to the location of the event;
determining, based at least in part on the time of the event and the
amount of travel time computed, a display time to display a reminder
regarding the event; and controlling at least one display to display the
reminder if it is determined that the display time is after a current
time.

36. The at least one computer-readable storage device of claim 35,
wherein the method further comprises: controlling the at least one
display to display the reminder at the display time.

37. The at least one computer-readable storage device of claim 35,
wherein: the location information is first location information
indicative of a first location of the information receiving apparatus;
the amount of travel time is a first amount of travel time; the display
time is a first display time; and the method further comprises: if it is
determined that the first display time is after the current time,
controlling the at least one location sensor to acquire second location
information indicative of a second location of the information receiving
apparatus; computing a second amount of travel time for traveling from
the second location of the information receiving apparatus to the
location of the event; and determining, based at least in part on the
time of the event and the second amount of travel time, a second display
time to display the reminder.

38. The at least one computer-readable storage device of claim 35,
wherein: the location information is first location information
indicative of a first location of the information receiving apparatus;
the amount of travel time is a first amount of travel time; the display
time is a first display time; and the method further comprises: after
controlling the at least one display to display the reminder at the first
display time, controlling the at least one location sensor to acquire
second location information indicative of a second location of the
information receiving apparatus; computing a second amount of travel time
for traveling from the second location of the information receiving
apparatus to the location of the event; and determining, based at least
in part on the time of the event and the second amount of travel time, a
second display time to display the reminder.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese
Patent Application JP 2007-236722 filed in the Japan Patent Office on
Sep. 12, 2007, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by
reference.

[0005] There has been a technique that delivers an advertisement to a
mobile communication terminal such as a cellular phone when the terminal
exists in a particular area such as near an advertiser's store. Further,
there has been invented a method of registering an attribute (e.g. age,
gender, place of residence, occupation etc.) of a person to receive an
advertisement in advance, selecting a terminal having an attribute which
matches an advertisement and delivering the advertisement to the
terminal.

[0006] As an example of such an advertisement delivery technique, a music
content delivery system which delivers advertisement data to a portable
terminal for playing back a music content is disclosed in Japanese
Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-56579, for example. In
this system, when a portable terminal plays back a music content, the
terminal receives advertisement data which is delivered from a nearby
store and plays back the advertisement data and the music content in
combination, so that a user who listens to the music content views the
advertisement at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In the advertisement delivery method according to the
above-described related art, an advertisement is delivered based on a
current location of a terminal that is an advertisement delivery target.
On the other hand, there are cases where an advertiser wishes to deliver
an advertisement based not on the current location information but on the
past location information of a terminal. For example, if an advertisement
is for an event or the like which is held in a predetermined place on
predetermined date and time, an advertisement is generally delivered
prior to the date and time when the event is held. In such a case, it is
desired to deliver the advertisement based on the past location
information of a terminal because those who have visited the place of the
event before and those who visit the place of the event or its vicinity
on a regular basis are likely to visit the place again, even if they are
not close to the place where the event is held at the time of delivering
the advertisement.

[0008] However, although an advertisement can be delivered based on the
current location of a terminal that is an advertisement delivery target
in the advertisement delivery method of the related art, an advertisement
cannot be delivered based on the past location information of a terminal.
It is therefore incapable of delivering an advertisement to a user who
may come to an event in the case as above, which can lead to the loss of
a chance of an advertisement.

[0009] In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide a novel and
improved information delivery apparatus, information receiving apparatus,
information delivery method, information receiving method and information
delivery system which are capable of delivering event information by
selecting a terminal of a user who is likely to come to an event, thereby
improving advertising effects of event information delivery.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information delivery apparatus which includes a receiving
portion to receive location information of a mobile communication
terminal at a given time point and acquired date and time of the location
information from the mobile communication terminal, an event information
storage portion to store event information including an event place, an
event date and an event time of an event held in a predetermined place on
predetermined date and time, a delivery terminal selecting portion to
select a mobile communication terminal to which the event information is
to be delivered based on the location information and the acquired date
and time of the location information received by the receiving portion
and on the event place, the event date and the event time, and an event
information delivery portion to deliver the event information stored in
the event information storage portion to the mobile communication
terminal selected by the delivery terminal selecting portion. In the
information delivery apparatus, the delivery terminal selecting portion
selects the mobile communication terminal whose location indicated by the
location information is within a predetermined range defined depending on
the event place and whose acquired date and time of the location
information are before the event date and time.

[0011] This configuration enables notification of the detail of the event
or the like to the mobile communication terminal of a user who has
visited the event place or its vicinity before. It is thereby possible to
deliver event information by selecting a user who is likely to come to
the event, which improves advertising effects of event information
delivery.

[0012] The information delivery apparatus may further include an attribute
information storage portion to store attribute information of a user of
the mobile communication terminal, and the delivery terminal selecting
portion may select the mobile communication terminal having the attribute
information related to the event information from the selected mobile
communication terminal.

[0013] The delivery terminal selecting portion may select at most a
predetermined number of mobile communication terminals.

[0014] The delivery terminal selecting portion may select the mobile
communication terminal in increasing order of a time length from the
acquired date and time of the location information within the
predetermined range defined depending on the event place to the event
date and time.

[0015] The delivery terminal selecting portion may refrain from selecting
the mobile communication terminal if the distance between a current
location of the mobile communication terminal and the event place exceeds
a predetermined value.

[0016] The delivery terminal selecting portion may calculate a travel time
from the current location of the mobile communication terminal to the
event place and refrain from selecting the mobile communication terminal
if the calculated travel time is longer than the interval between current
time and the event time.

[0017] According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information receiving apparatus which includes a location
information acquiring portion to acquire location information indicating
a current location, a location information storage portion to accumulate
and store location information acquired by the location information
acquiring portion and acquired date and time of the location information,
an event information receiving portion to receive event information
including an event place, an event date and an event time of an event
held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and time, and an
event information selecting portion to select the event information to be
notified to a user based on the location information and the acquired
date and time of the location information stored in the location
information storage portion and on the event place, the event date and
the event time included in the event information. In the information
receiving apparatus, the event information selecting portion selects the
event information if the location information stored in the location
information storage portion is within a predetermined range defined
depending on the event place and the acquired date and time of the
location information are before the event date and time.

[0018] In this configuration, a terminal which receives information can
refer to its past location information and presents only related event
information to a user. This eliminates the need to notify location
information from a terminal to the information delivery apparatus,
thereby reducing a communication traffic amount from the terminal and
processing for the communication. This also eliminates the need to store
location information of each terminal in an information delivering end,
thereby reducing a storage area to be reserved.

[0019] The information receiving apparatus may further include an
attribute information storage portion to store attribute information of a
user, and the event information selecting portion may select the event
information related to the attribute information.

[0020] The event information selecting portion may refrain from selecting
the event information if the distance between the current location and
the event place exceeds a predetermined value.

[0021] The event information selecting portion may calculate a travel time
from the current location to the event place and refrain from selecting
the event information if the calculated travel time is longer than the
interval between current time and the event time.

[0022] According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information delivery method which includes the steps of
receiving location information of a mobile communication terminal at a
given time point and acquired date and time of the location information
from the mobile communication terminal, selecting the mobile
communication terminal to which event information about an event is to be
delivered based on the location information and the acquired date and
time of the location information received in the receiving step and on an
event place, an event date and en event time of the event held in a
predetermined place on predetermined date and time, and delivering the
event information to the mobile communication terminal selected in the
selecting step. In the information delivery method, the mobile
communication terminal whose location indicated by the location
information is within a predetermined range defined depending on the
event place and whose acquired date and time of the location information
are before the event date and time is selected in the selecting step.

[0023] According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information receiving method which includes the steps of
acquiring location information indicating a current location, storing the
location information acquired in the acquiring step and acquired date and
time of the location information into a storage medium, receiving event
information including an event place, an event date and an event time of
an event held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and time,
and selecting the event information to be notified to a user based on the
location information and the acquired date and time of the location
information stored in the storage medium and on the event place, the
event date and the event time included in the event information. In the
information receiving method, the event information is selected in the
selecting step if the location information stored in the storage medium
is within a predetermined range defined depending on the event place and
the acquired date and time of the location information are before the
event date and time.

[0024] According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information delivery system which includes an information
receiving apparatus that acquires and supplies location information and
an information delivery apparatus that delivers event information based
on the location information supplied by the information receiving
apparatus. The information delivery apparatus includes a receiving
portion to receive location information at a given time point and
acquired date and time of the location information from the information
receiving apparatus, an event information storage portion to store event
information including an event place, an event date and an event time of
an event held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and time, a
delivery terminal selecting portion to select an information receiving
apparatus to which the event information is to be delivered based on the
location information and the acquired date and time of the location
information received by the receiving portion and on the event place, the
event date and the event time, and an event information delivery portion
to deliver the event information stored in the event information storage
portion to the information receiving apparatus selected by the delivery
terminal selecting portion, and the delivery terminal selecting portion
selects the information receiving apparatus whose location indicated by
the location information is within a predetermined range defined
depending on the event place and whose acquired date and time of the
location information are before the event date and time.

[0025] According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is
provided an information delivery system which includes an information
receiving apparatus that acquires and accumulates location information
and an information delivery apparatus that delivers event information
about an event held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and
time to the information receiving apparatus. The information receiving
apparatus includes a location information acquiring portion to acquire
location information indicating a current location, a location
information storage portion to accumulate and store location information
acquired by the location information acquiring portion and acquired date
and time of the location information, an event information receiving
portion to receive event information including an event place, an event
date and an event time of the event delivered by the information delivery
apparatus, and an event information selecting portion to select the event
information to be notified to a user based on the location information
and the acquired date and time of the location information stored in the
location information storage portion and on the event place, the event
date and the event time included in the event information, and the event
information selecting portion selects the event information if the
location information stored in the location information storage portion
is within a predetermined range defined depending on the event place and
the acquired date and time of the location information are before the
event date and time.

[0026] According to the embodiments of the present invention described
above, it is possible to deliver event information by selecting a
terminal of a user who is likely to come to an event, thereby improving
advertising effects of event information delivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an
information delivery system according to a first embodiment of the
present invention.

[0028]FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information delivery apparatus according to the first
embodiment.

[0029]FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information receiving apparatus according to the
first embodiment.

[0030]FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery
process which is executed by the information delivery system according to
the first embodiment.

[0031]FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information delivery apparatus according to a second
embodiment of the present invention.

[0032]FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information receiving apparatus according to the
second embodiment.

[0033]FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery
process which is executed by an information delivery system according to
the second embodiment.

[0034]FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information delivery apparatus according to a third
embodiment of the present invention.

[0035]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery
process which is executed by an information delivery system according to
the third embodiment.

[0036] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information delivery apparatus according to a fourth
embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information receiving apparatus according to the
fourth embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery
process which is executed by an information delivery system according to
the fourth embodiment.

[0039]FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information delivery apparatus according to a fifth
embodiment of the present invention.

[0040]FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery
process which is executed by an information delivery system according to
the fifth embodiment.

[0041]FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of an information receiving apparatus according to a sixth
embodiment of the present invention.

[0042]FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of a reminder display process
which is executed by an information delivery system according to the
sixth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] Hereafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that in
this specification and the appended drawings, structural elements that
have substantially the same functions and structures are denoted with the
same reference numerals and a repeated explanation of these structural
elements is omitted.

First Embodiment

[0044] Referring first to FIG. 1, an information delivery system according
to a first embodiment of the present invention is described hereinafter.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an
information delivery system according to the first embodiment of the
present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an information delivery system 100
according to the first embodiment is composed of an information delivery
apparatus 120 and an information receiving apparatus 140.

[0045] The information receiving apparatus 140 is a portable information
terminal which has a communication function such as a cellular phone and
a personal digital assistant (PDA), for example. The information
receiving apparatus 140 receives event information which is delivered
from the information delivery apparatus 120 and displays the received
event information on a display portion such as LCD. Further, the
information receiving apparatus 140 acquires location information which
indicates its current location from a GPS satellite 12 or a base station
14 that is installed by a cellular phone carrier and supplies the
received location information and information about an acquired time to
the information delivery apparatus 120.

[0046] The information delivery apparatus 120 delivers event information
at an advertiser's request to one or more information receiving apparatus
140. Although FIG. 1 illustrates one information receiving apparatus 140
for simplification of description, there may be a plurality of
information receiving apparatus 140. The event information which is
delivered by the information delivery apparatus 120 is information about
an event that is held in a predetermined place on predetermined date and
time, and it includes information about the date and time and the place
when and where the event is held, information about the detail of the
event, and information about delivery of the event information. The
information delivery apparatus 120 receives location information and
information about acquired date and time of the location information from
the information receiving apparatus 140 and compares the received
information with the information about the place and the date and time of
the event, thereby determining whether to deliver the event information
to the information receiving apparatus 140.

[0047] In the information delivery system 100 of such a configuration, an
advertiser which holds an event can deliver event information based on
location information that is transmitted from a cellular phone or the
like of each user. The advertiser can thereby deliver information by
selecting a user who is likely to come to the event, thus increasing
advertising effects.

[0048] Referring next to FIG. 2, functions which are implemented by the
information delivery apparatus 120 according to this embodiment are
described hereinafter. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a
schematic configuration of the information delivery apparatus 120
according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 2, the information delivery apparatus 120 includes
a location information receiving portion 122, a location information
storage portion 124, an event information storage portion 126, a delivery
terminal selecting portion 128, and an event information delivery portion
130. The location information receiving portion 122, the delivery
terminal selecting portion 128 and the event information delivery portion
130 may be implemented by installing software program for executing the
functions of those portions into the information delivery apparatus 120
or may be implemented using dedicated hardware. Further, the software
program may be executed by reading out the program stored in a
computer-readable storage medium or may be provided to the information
delivery apparatus 120 through a network or the like. The location
information storage portion 124 and the event information storage portion
126 may be configured by a storage medium such as semiconductor memory,
an optical disk and a magnetic disk, for example.

[0050] The location information receiving portion 122 receives location
information and acquired date and time of the location information which
are transmitted from the information receiving apparatus 140. The
location information may be information about the latitude, longitude and
altitude of the information receiving apparatus 140 at a certain point,
information indicating the area where the information receiving apparatus
140 exists and so on. The location information storage portion 124 stores
the location information and the information about the acquired date and
time of the location information which are received by the location
information receiving portion 122 and the information about the
information receiving apparatus 140 in association with each other.

[0051] The event information storage portion 126 is a storage portion for
storing information (event information) about an event which is held in a
predetermined place on predetermined date and time. Event information may
be provided by an advertiser which requests the delivery of event
information and input to the information delivery apparatus 120 through a
network or the like, for example. Event information includes information
about the place and the date and time of an event, information indicating
the detail of an event, a period of delivering event information, a range
of delivery terminal location of event information, a condition of
delivering event information and so on. Information indicating the detail
of an event may be information such as a title of an event, a schedule of
an event, text or image data indicating the detail of an event and a
discount ticket for an event, for example.

[0052] A range of delivery terminal location of event information is
defined in order to determine whether to deliver event information to a
terminal (information receiving apparatus 140) of each user, and, if
location information which is transmitted from a terminal is included in
the defined range, event information is delivered to the terminal. A
range of delivery terminal location may be a certain distance range from
an event place where an event is held or a certain distance range from
the nearest station of an event place, for example. A range of delivery
terminal location may not include an event place. A condition of
delivering event information is a keyword for narrowing down users to
whom event information is to be delivered, attribute information (e.g.
age, gender, place of residence, interest etc.) of users who are delivery
targets, and so on.

[0053] The delivery terminal selecting portion 128 selects the information
receiving apparatus 140 to which event information that is stored in the
event information storage portion 126 is to be delivered based on
location information of the information receiving apparatus 140 and
acquired date and time of the location information that are received by
the location information receiving portion 122. Specifically, the
delivery terminal selecting portion 128 refers to a range of delivery
terminal location of event information which is stored in the event
information storage portion 126 and determines whether location
information of each information receiving apparatus 140 which is stored
in the location information storage portion 124 falls within that range.
If there is location information that falls within the range of delivery
terminal location, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 determines
whether acquired date and time of the location information is before the
date and time when an event is held, and if it is before the event date
and time, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 selects the
relevant information receiving apparatus 140 as a delivery terminal of
event information. The event information delivery portion 130 delivers
event information to the information receiving apparatus 140 which is
selected by the delivery terminal selecting portion 128.

[0054] The delivery terminal selecting portion 128 may select all of the
information receiving apparatus 140 of which past location information
falls within a range of delivery terminal location or may limits the
number of the information receiving apparatus 140 to be selected (e.g. to
100). At this time, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 may
select the information receiving apparatus 140 sequentially in increasing
order of a time length from the acquired date and time of location
information within a range of delivery terminal location to the current
date and time. It is thereby possible to deliver event information
preferentially to a user who has visited the place of an event most
recently to the time of delivering the event information.

[0055] Referring then to FIG. 3, functions which are implemented by the
information receiving apparatus 140 according to this embodiment are
described hereinafter. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing a
schematic configuration of the information receiving apparatus 140
according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 3, the information receiving apparatus 140
includes a location information acquiring portion 142, a location
information storage portion 144, a location information transmitting
portion 146, an event information receiving portion 148, a display
portion 150, and an event information storage portion 152. The location
information acquiring portion 142, the location information transmitting
portion 146 and the event information receiving portion 148 may be
implemented by installing software program for executing the functions of
those portions into the information receiving apparatus 140 or may be
implemented using dedicated hardware. Further, the software program may
be executed by reading out the program stored in a computer-readable
storage medium or may be provided to the information receiving apparatus
140 through a network or the like. The location information storage
portion 144 and the event information storage portion 152 may be
configured by a storage medium such as semiconductor memory, an optical
disk and a magnetic disk, for example. The display portion 150 may be
configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD).

[0057] The location information acquiring portion 142 acquires location
information which indicates its current location from the GPS satellite
12 or the base station 14 that is installed by a cellular phone carrier.
The location information may be acquired periodically at regular time
intervals or may be acquired at irregular timings such as when the
information receiving apparatus 140 goes through a predetermined place
(e.g. a station, a building serving as a landmark of an area etc.).
Acquired location information and acquired date and time of the location
information are stored into the location information storage portion 144
and then transmitted to the information delivery apparatus 120 by the
location information transmitting portion 146. Alternatively, location
information and information about acquired date and time may be supplied
directly from the location information acquiring portion 142 to the
location information transmitting portion 146 and transmitted to the
information delivery apparatus 120.

[0058] The event information receiving portion 148 receives event
information which is transmitted from the information delivery apparatus
120 and makes it display on the display portion 150. The event
information which is received by the event information receiving portion
148 may be stored into the event information storage portion 152 so that
it is accumulated in the information receiving apparatus 140.

[0059] Referring further to FIG. 4, an information delivery process which
is executed by the information delivery system 100 according to this
embodiment is described hereinafter. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow
of the information delivery process which is executed by the information
delivery system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present
invention. In FIG. 4, the steps S200 to S206 are a location information
notification process from the information receiving apparatus 140 to the
information delivery apparatus 120, and the steps S208 to S212 are an
information delivery process in the information delivery apparatus 120.

[0060] First, the location information acquiring portion 142 of the
information receiving apparatus 140 acquires location information which
indicates its current location from the GPS satellite 12 or the base
station 14 (step S200). Next, the acquired location information and the
acquired data and time of the location information are stored into the
location information storage portion 144 (step S202). The location
information which is stored in the location information storage portion
144 is transmitted by the location information transmitting portion 146
to the information delivery apparatus 120 at regular time intervals, for
example (step S204). The information receiving apparatus 140 performs the
processing of the steps S200 to S204 repeatedly and transmits the
acquired location information sequentially to the information delivery
apparatus 120.

[0061] On the other hand, the information delivery apparatus 120 receives
location information from the information receiving apparatus 140 and
stores it into the location information storage portion 124 (step S206).
Then, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 of the information
delivery apparatus 120 compares location information of each information
receiving apparatus 140 which is stored in the location information
storage portion 124 with a range of delivery terminal location of event
information and determines whether there is location information which is
included in the range (step S208). For example, if an event is held in
"Shinjuku" and a range of delivery terminal location is "the area within
a distance of 500 meters from Shinjuku Station", the information
receiving apparatus 140 for which the location information at the point
within a distance of 500 meters from Shinjuku Station has been recorded
in the past corresponds thereto.

[0062] If there is corresponding location information in the step S208,
the acquired date and time of the location information are compared with
the time when the event is held, and it is determined whether the
location information acquired date and time are earlier than the event
time (step S210). If this determination condition is satisfied, the
delivery terminal selecting portion 128 selects the information receiving
apparatus 140 having the relevant location information as a delivery
terminal, and the event information delivery portion 130 delivers the
event information to the selected information receiving apparatus 140
(step S212). The event information is not delivered to the information
receiving apparatus 140 which do not satisfy the determination condition
in the step S208 or the step S210.

[0063] In such a process, the detail of an event or the like can be
notified to a portable terminal of a user who has visited a certain area,
such as the place where the event is held or its vicinity, in the past.
It is thereby possible to deliver event information by selecting users
who are likely to come to the event, which improves advertising effects
of event information delivery.

[0064] Further, when acquired date and time of location information which
is stored in the location information storage portion 124 of the
information delivery apparatus 120 becomes a predetermined past time
(e.g. two weeks before the current date and time), the location
information may be eliminated from the location information storage
portion 124. This limits location information to be used for delivery
terminal selection within a predetermined past time period, thereby
avoiding reference to old location information.

[0065] Furthermore, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 may count
the number of the information receiving apparatus 140 which satisfy the
condition after the step S210 and limits the number of the information
receiving apparatus 140 to be selected to no more than a certain number
(e.g. 10). This allows grasping of the maximum number of terminals to
which event information is to be delivered in advance, thus offering
advantages such as keeping advertising costs within a certain limit to an
advertiser which requests delivery of event information. In this case,
the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 may select the information
receiving apparatus 140 sequentially in decreasing order of recency of
the acquired date and time of the location information which satisfies
the condition, for example. This enables delivery of event information
preferentially to a user who has visited the place recently to the time
of delivering the advertisement, which is, a user who is more likely to
come to the event.

[0066] Although the first embodiment has described that the delivery
terminal selecting portion 128 selects delivery terminals depending on
whether the past location information which is transmitted from the
information receiving apparatus 140 falls within a range of delivery
terminal location of event information, it may further narrow down
delivery terminals using information different from location information
after selecting delivery terminals by the above-described method.

[0067] For example, each information receiving apparatus 140 may
previously register attribute information, such as an age, gender, place
of residence, interest and occupation, of a user into the information
delivery apparatus 120, and the delivery terminal selecting portion 128
of the information delivery apparatus 120 may compare the attribute
information with information about a delivery condition which is included
in event information and select the information receiving apparatus 140
of a user who has the attribute information that matches the delivery
condition as a delivery terminal.

Second Embodiment

[0068] A second embodiment of the present invention describes the case
where the information delivery apparatus 120 selects a delivery terminal
using information that is different from location information of the
information receiving apparatus 140. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram
showing an example of the information delivery apparatus 120 which
selects a delivery terminal using information that is different from
location information of the information receiving apparatus 140. FIG. 6
is a functional block diagram showing an example of the information
receiving apparatus 140 which registers attribute information into the
information delivery apparatus 120 in advance. In FIGS. 5 and 6, the
functional portions which correspond to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are
denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of those are
omitted as appropriate in order to avoid redundant description.

[0069] The information delivery apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 5 is different
from the information delivery apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 2 in that it
further includes an attribute information storage portion 132 and narrows
down terminals to which event information is to be delivered with use of
attribute information of each information receiving apparatus 140 which
is stored in the attribute information storage portion 132. Further, the
information receiving apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 6 is different from the
information receiving apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 3 in that it further
includes an attribute information registering portion 154 and registers
attribute information of a user into the information delivery apparatus
120 in advance.

[0070] The attribute information registering portion 154 of the
information receiving apparatus 140 transmits data of user attribute
information which is input through an input portion such as a keyboard, a
mouse or a microphone (not shown) that is equipped with the information
receiving apparatus 140 or transmitted to the information receiving
apparatus 140 through a network to the information delivery apparatus 120
for registration. User attribute information may be information such as
age, gender, place of residence, occupation, interest and preference of a
user. The information delivery apparatus 120 receives data of attribute
information which is transmitted by the attribute information registering
portion 154 of the information receiving apparatus 140 and stores it into
the attribute information storage portion 132 in association with
information indicating each information receiving apparatus 140 (e.g. ID,
user name etc.).

[0071] The information delivery apparatus 120 according to this embodiment
is different from the information delivery apparatus 120 according to the
first embodiment in that the delivery terminal selecting portion 128
selects delivery terminals based on location information of the
information receiving apparatus 140 and further narrows down delivery
terminals using attribute information of each information receiving
apparatus 140 which is stored in the attribute information storage
portion 132. The delivery terminal selecting portion 128 compares the
attribute information of the information receiving apparatus 140 which is
stored in the attribute information storage portion 132 with information
about a delivery condition which is included in event information and
selects the information receiving apparatus 140 which has the attribute
information that matches the delivery condition as a delivery terminal,
in addition to performing the function of the delivery terminal selecting
portion 128 according to the first embodiment. For example, when the
condition that "user's age is 20's or 30's" is designated as a delivery
condition of event information, if the value of an age which is
registered as attribute information of the information receiving
apparatus 140 is 20 to 39, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128
selects the information receiving apparatus 140 as a delivery terminal,
and if not, it does not select the information receiving apparatus 140 as
a delivery terminal.

[0072] Referring then to FIG. 7, an information delivery process in the
case of using the information delivery apparatus 120 of FIG. 5 and the
information receiving apparatus 140 of FIG. 6 is described hereinafter.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery process
which is executed by the information delivery system 100 according to the
second embodiment of the present invention.

[0073] First, the information receiving apparatus 140 registers user
attribute information into the information delivery apparatus 120 in
advance (step S220). Next, the information receiving apparatus 140
periodically notifies its location information to the information
delivery apparatus 120 by the processing in the steps S222 to S228. The
processing in the steps S222 to S228 is the same as the processing in the
steps S200 to S206 shown in FIG. 4 and thus not described in detail
herein.

[0074] Then, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 of the
information delivery apparatus 120 compares the location information of
each information receiving apparatus 140 with a range of delivery
terminal location of event information and selects terminals (information
receiving apparatus) to which event information is to be delivered by the
processing in the steps S230 to S232. The processing in the steps S230 to
S232 is the same as the processing in the steps S208 to S210 shown in
FIG. 4.

[0075] Further, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 compares the
attribute information of each information receiving apparatus 140 which
is selected by the steps S230 to S232 with a delivery condition of event
information (step S234). If the attribute information which is registered
in the attribute information storage portion 132 matches the delivery
condition, the relevant information receiving apparatus 140 is selected
as a delivery terminal, and the event information is delivered thereto
(step S236). It is thereby possible to deliver the event information by
narrowing down persons who are likely to be interested in the event from
those who have visited the designated place, which further improve
advertising effects of the event information.

[0076] Although the information delivery apparatus 120 selects a delivery
terminal based on the past location information of the information
receiving apparatus 140 in the first and second embodiments described
above, it may select a delivery terminal using the current location
information in addition to the past location information. For example,
even if a user of a terminal has visited an event place in the past, the
information delivery apparatus 120 may refrain from selecting the
terminal when it has been moved far away from the place at the time of
delivering event information.

Third Embodiment

[0077] A third embodiment of the present invention describes an example of
the information delivery system in which the information delivery
apparatus 120 selects a delivery terminal using the current location
information, in addition to the past location information, of the
information receiving apparatus 140. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram
showing an example of the information delivery apparatus 120 which
selects a delivery terminal with use of the current location information,
in addition to the past location information, of the information
receiving apparatus 140. In FIG. 8, the functional portions which
correspond to those shown in FIG. 2 or 5 are denoted by the same
reference numerals, and the description of those are omitted as
appropriate in order to avoid redundant description.

[0078] The information delivery apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 8 is different
from the information delivery apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 2 or 5 in that
it further includes a location information requesting portion 134 which
requests information about a current location to the information
receiving apparatus 140, so that the delivery terminal selecting portion
128 selects a delivery terminal using the current location information,
in addition to the past location information, of the information
receiving apparatus 140. After the delivery terminal selecting portion
128 selects delivery terminals by performing the processing in the same
manner as the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 of the first
embodiment or the second embodiment described above, it makes the
location information requesting portion 134 request current location
information to the information receiving apparatus 140 and receives the
current location information of the information receiving apparatus 140.
The delivery terminal selecting portion 128 then compares the current
location of the information receiving apparatus 140 with information
about a place where an event is held which is included in event
information, and, if a distance between the current location and the
event place is equal to or longer than a predetermined threshold, the
delivery terminal selecting portion 128 does not select the relevant
information receiving apparatus 140 as a delivery terminal. In this
configuration, even if a user has visited an event place in the past,
when the user is far away from the event place at the time of delivering
event information (for example, when the event is held in Tokyo and the
user is in Kagoshima prefecture), it is possible to judge that the user
is not likely to come to the event and refrain from transmitting the
event information to the user.

[0079] Referring next to FIG. 9, an information delivery process in the
case of using the information delivery apparatus 120 of FIG. 8 is
described hereinafter. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a flow of an
information delivery process which is executed by the information
delivery system 100 according to the third embodiment of the present
invention. In FIG. 9, the processing in the steps S240 to S250 is
substantially the same as the processing in the steps S200 to S210 shown
in FIG. 4 and thus not described in detail herein.

[0080] After selecting the information receiving apparatus 140 to which
event information is to be delivered by the processing in the steps S248
to S250, the location information requesting portion 134 of the
information delivery apparatus 120 requests each information receiving
apparatus 140 to transmit location information indicating a current
location (step S252). Then, the delivery terminal selecting portion 128
compares the current location information of each information receiving
apparatus 140 which is acquired by the step S252 with the event place
which is included in the event information and determines whether the
information receiving apparatus 140 exists within a predetermined
distance from the event place (step S254). The determination may be
performed using a physical distance between the current location of the
information receiving apparatus 140 and the event place, or using a
travel distance or a necessary travel time by calculating a time needed
to travel from the current location of the information receiving
apparatus 140 to the event place.

[0081] If the determination processing in the step S254 determines that
the distance is equal to or shorter than a predetermined length, the
event information delivery portion 130 of the information delivery
apparatus 120 delivers event information to the relevant information
receiving apparatus 140 (step S256). On the other hand, if the distance
is longer than the predetermined length, the event information delivery
portion 130 does not deliver event information to the relevant
information receiving apparatus 140.

[0082] In such a process, even if a person has visited a place where an
event is held in the past, when the user is far away from the event place
at the time of delivering information, it is possible to refrain from
delivering event information to the person. It is thereby possible to
deliver event information by excluding a person who is less likely to
come to the event.

[0083] Although the information delivery apparatus 120 which delivers
event information selects the information receiving apparatus 140 to
which event information is to be delivered and delivers the event
information thereto in the first to third embodiments described above,
the information receiving apparatus 140 which receives event information
may sort out the event information to be shown to a user depending on its
location information.

Fourth Embodiment

[0084] A fourth embodiment of the present invention describes an example
of the information delivery system in which the information receiving
apparatus 140 filters event information which is delivered by the
information delivery apparatus 120 and divides the event information into
information to be notified to a user and information not to be notified
to a user. FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic
configuration of the information delivery apparatus 120 according to the
fourth embodiment. FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a
schematic configuration of the information receiving apparatus 140
according to the fourth embodiment. In FIGS. 10 and 11, the functional
portions which correspond to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by
the same reference numerals, and the description of those are omitted as
appropriate in order to avoid redundant description.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 10, the information delivery apparatus 120
according to this embodiment is different from the information delivery
apparatus 120 according to the first to third embodiments described above
in that it does not include the elements such as the location information
receiving portion 122 and the delivery terminal selecting portion 128 for
selecting a terminal to which event information is to be delivered. The
information delivery apparatus 120 transmits event information which is
stored in the event information storage portion 126 to all of the
information receiving apparatus 140 which are registered beforehand.

[0086] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the information receiving
apparatus 140 according to this embodiment is different from the
information receiving apparatus 140 according to the first to third
embodiments in that it further includes an event information selecting
portion 156 so as to select event information to be displayed on the
display portion 150 from the event information which is transmitted from
the information delivery apparatus 120. The event information selecting
portion 156 compares the place and the time of each event information
which is received by the event information receiving portion 148 with the
past location information which is stored in the location information
storage portion 144 and determines whether to display each event
information on the display portion 150.

[0087] Specifically, the event information selecting portion 156 refers to
an event place included in event information which is stored in the event
information storage portion 152 and determines whether there is location
information which is stored in the location information storage portion
144 and which falls within a predetermined range from the event place. If
there is such location information, the event information selecting
portion 156 further determines whether the acquired date and time of the
location information is before the date and time when the event is held
and, if so, it displays the relevant event information on the display
portion 150. Event information which is not displayed on the display
portion 150 may be discarded or stored into the event information storage
portion 152 together with the displayed event information.

[0088] The event information selecting portion 156 may further narrow down
the event information to be displayed based on attribute information such
as user's gender, age and interest or the current location of the
information receiving apparatus 140, just like the information delivery
apparatus 120 according to the second and third embodiments.

[0089] Referring next to FIG. 12, an information delivery process in the
case of using the information delivery apparatus 120 of FIG. 10 and the
information receiving apparatus 140 of FIG. 11 is described hereinafter.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of an information delivery process
which is executed by the information delivery system 100 according to the
fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0090] In FIG. 12, the processing in the steps S260 to S262 is
substantially the same as the processing in the steps S200 to S202 shown
in FIG. 4 and thus not described in detail herein. The information
delivery apparatus 120 transmits event information to the information
receiving apparatus 140 at given timing (step S264). Receiving the event
information, the information receiving apparatus 140 compares a range of
delivery terminal location of event information or an event place with
location information which is stored in the location information storage
portion 144 and determines whether there is location information which
falls within the range that is defined by the event information (step
S266).

[0091] If there is location information which falls within the range, the
information receiving apparatus 140 compares the acquired date and time
of the relevant location information with the time when the event is held
and determines whether the location information acquired date and time is
before the event time (step S268). If this condition is satisfied, the
event information which is transmitted from the information delivery
apparatus 120 in the step S264 is displayed on the display portion 150 of
the information receiving apparatus 140. If the condition is not
satisfied in the step S266 and the step S268, the event information is
not displayed on the display portion 150.

[0092] In this manner, it is feasible that an event information delivering
end does not filter delivery destination terminals at the time of
delivering event information and an event information receiving end
filters the received event information. In this configuration, a terminal
which receives information can refer to its past location information and
presents only related event information to a user. This eliminates the
need to supply location information from a terminal to an information
delivery apparatus, thereby reducing a communication traffic amount from
the terminal and processing for the communication. This also eliminates
the need to store location information of each terminal in an information
delivering end, thereby reducing a storage area to be reserved.

[0093] An example of the information delivery system in which the
information delivery apparatus 120 selects the information receiving
apparatus 140 to which event information is to be delivered based on the
past location information of the information receiving apparatus 140 is
described in the first to third embodiments described earlier. Further,
an example of the information delivery system in which the selection
processing based on the past location information of the information
receiving apparatus 140 is performed in a receiving end is described in
the fourth embodiment described above. In the followings, an example of
the information delivery system in which event information is transmitted
as a reminder at the latest possible time before an event time based on
the current location of the information receiving apparatus 140 is
described as a method for enhancing the advertising effects of event
information delivery to the information receiving apparatus 140.

Fifth Embodiment

[0094] A fifth embodiment of the present invention describes an example of
the information delivery system in which the information delivery
apparatus 120 transmits event information as a reminder at the latest
possible time before an event time. FIG. 13 is a functional block diagram
showing a schematic configuration of the information delivery apparatus
120 according to the fifth embodiment. In FIG. 13, the functional
portions which correspond to those of the information delivery apparatus
120 shown in FIG. 2 and so on are denoted by the same reference numerals,
and the description of those are omitted as appropriate in order to avoid
redundant description. The information receiving apparatus 140 according
to this embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the
information receiving apparatus 140 according to the first to third
embodiments described above and not described in detail herein.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 13, the information delivery apparatus 120
according to the fifth embodiment further includes a travel time
calculating portion 136 and a delivery time determining portion 138 in
addition to the elements of the information delivery apparatus 120
according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. The information
delivery apparatus 120 of this embodiment transmits event information as
a reminder to the information receiving apparatus 140 that is determined
as a delivery terminal to which event information is to be transmitted by
the same processing as in the information delivery apparatus 120 of the
first to third embodiments at the latest possible time before an event
time when an event is held. Further, the information delivery apparatus
120 determines a time to transmit event information by checking the
current location of each information receiving apparatus 140 and
calculating a time needed to travel from the current location to an event
place where the event is held, so that a user who receives the reminder
can reach the event place by the event time.

[0096] The information receiving apparatus 140 of this embodiment acquires
location information indicating its current location periodically and
transmits the location information to the information delivery apparatus
120 each time it acquires the information. The information delivery
apparatus 120 receives the location information of the information
receiving apparatus 140 by the location information receiving portion 122
and, if it is the information receiving apparatus 140 that is a target of
transmitting a reminder, the information delivery apparatus 120
calculates a time to transmit a reminder by the travel time calculating
portion 136 and the delivery time determining portion 138.

[0097] The travel time calculating portion 136 receives location
information of the information receiving apparatus 140 from the location
information receiving portion 122 and calculates a travel time from the
place which is indicated by the location information to the event place
which is included in the event information. A travel time may be obtained
by calculating a necessary time from the nearest station of the current
location of the information receiving apparatus 140 to the nearest
station of an event place, a necessary time to each nearest station and
so on using route search technology of a public transportation, an
expressway or the like. A calculated necessary travel time may be one,
or, if there are a plurality of possible travel routes, a plurality of
travel times may be calculated corresponding thereto.

[0098] The delivery time determining portion 138 determines a time to
deliver event information (reminder) based on a travel time which is
calculated by the travel time calculating portion 136 and an event time.
A delivery time may be set so that an interval between the delivery time
and the event time is at least equal to the travel time. Alternatively, a
delivery time may be set so that an interval between the delivery time
and the event time is longer than the necessary travel time in order to
allow an extra time. For example, if an event time is 14:00 and a travel
time which is calculated by the travel time calculating portion 136 is 1
hour, the delivery time determining portion 138 may set a delivery time
to 13:00 or to 12:30 with extra 30 minutes.

[0099] If a plurality of travel times are calculated by the travel time
calculating portion 136, a delivery time may be determined based on the
longest or shortest travel time or based on the average of the plurality
of travel times. Further, it is feasible to refrain from transmitting a
reminder if a travel time is equal to or longer than a certain value. For
example, if a travel time from the current location is 2 hours or longer,
a reminder may not be transmitted on the assumption that it is less
likely to come to the event.

[0100] Furthermore, it is feasible to refrain from transmitting a reminder
to the information receiving apparatus 140 to which the reminder has been
transmitted once. For example, if an event time is 14:00 and a travel
time which is calculated at 11:00 is 2 hours, for example, a reminder
delivery time is determined to be 12:00, so that the first reminder is
transmitted at 12:00. After that, a travel time is calculated again based
on the location information which is received at 12:30, and if the
calculated travel time is 1 hour, a reminder delivery time is set to
13:00, so that the second reminder is transmitted at 13:00. In order to
remove the burden that a user receives a reminder again and again in such
a case, the calculation of a delivery time by the travel time calculating
portion 136 and the delivery time determining portion 138 may not be
performed for the information receiving apparatus 140 to which the
reminder has been transmitted once.

[0101] In the above description, an "event time" may be a start time or an
end time of an event. Alternatively, it may be a particular time during
an event being held. For example, if the most principal part of an event
which is held from 13:00 to 18:00 is performed at 15:00, an "event time"
may be set to 15:00, and a reminder may be delivered so that a user can
come to the event by 15:00. Alternatively, a plurality of "event times"
may be set for one event, and a reminder may be delivered in accordance
with the nearest "event time".

[0102] When an "event time" is set to an event end time, for example,
there is a possibility that a reminder will be transmitted to a user who
has come to the event already. To avoid this, it is feasible to refrain
from transmitting event information as a reminder to the information
receiving apparatus 140 which comes to the event place or its vicinity
during the period by referring to location information of each
information receiving apparatus 140 during the period when the event is
held.

[0103] Referring next to FIG. 14, an information delivery process in the
case of using the information delivery apparatus 120 of FIG. 13 is
described hereinafter. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a flow of an
information delivery process which is executed by the information
delivery system 100 according to the fifth embodiment of the present
invention.

[0104] First, the information delivery apparatus 120 receives location
information indicating a current location from the information receiving
apparatus 140 (step S280). The location information may be transmitted
from the information receiving apparatus 140 at regular time intervals,
for example.

[0105] Next, the travel time calculating portion 136 of the information
delivery apparatus 120 calculates a time needed to travel from the
current location of the information receiving apparatus 140 to the event
place based on the location information which is received in the step
S280 (step S282). Then, the delivery time determining portion 138 of the
information delivery apparatus 120 determines a time to deliver event
information as a reminder based on the necessary travel time which is
calculated in the step S282 (step S284). Further, it is determined
whether the calculated delivery time is earlier than the current time,
that is, whether the current time is already past the delivery time (step
S286). If the current time is already past the delivery time, the
information delivery apparatus 120 ends the process. Alternatively, the
information delivery apparatus 120 may return to the step S280 and repeat
the processing of calculating a delivery time based on newly transmitted
location information.

[0106] On the other hand, if the delivery time is the current time or
later, that is, if the current time is not yet past the delivery time in
the step S286, the information delivery apparatus 120 waits until the
delivery time which is determined by the step S284 (step S288) and then
transmits event information as a reminder to the information receiving
apparatus 140 at the delivery time (step S290). After that, the
information delivery apparatus 120 returns to the step S280 and repeats
the processing of calculating a delivery time based on newly transmitted
location information. Alternatively, it may end the process once it has
transmitted a reminder in the step S290, so that the reminder is not
transmitted a plurality of times.

[0107] In such a process, a reminder can be transmitted in time for an
event time based on a current location of a user. This allows a user to
remind the event even if the user has received event information before
but forgets it just before the event. Further, because a reminder is
transmitted at such a time that a user can come to an event in time, a
user who intends to come to the event can come to the event without fail
by the reminder. This further increases the advertising effects of event
information which is notified in advance.

[0108] Although the information delivery apparatus 120 delivers a reminder
at an appropriate time according to the current location of the
information receiving apparatus 140 in the fifth embodiment described
above, the information receiving apparatus 140 which receives event
information may present a reminder to a user at an appropriate time based
on its location information.

Sixth Embodiment

[0109] A sixth embodiment of the present invention describes an example of
the information delivery system in which the information receiving
apparatus 140 accumulates event information which is delivered from the
information delivery apparatus 120 and notifies the event information to
a user as a reminder just before an event time. FIG. 15 is a functional
block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information
receiving apparatus 140 according to the sixth embodiment. In FIG. 15,
the functional portions which correspond to those shown in FIG. 3 are
denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of those are
omitted as appropriate in order to avoid redundant description. The
information delivery apparatus 120 according to this embodiment has
substantially the same configuration and functions as the information
delivery apparatus 120 according to the fourth embodiment described above
and thus not described in detail herein.

[0110] As shown in FIG. 15, the information receiving apparatus 140
according to the sixth embodiment further includes a travel time
calculating portion 158 and a display time determining portion 160 in
addition to the elements of the information receiving apparatus 140
according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3. The information
receiving apparatus 140 of this embodiment accumulates event information
which is received at given timing from the information delivery apparatus
120 and displays the accumulated event information as a reminder at the
latest possible time before an event time. Further, the information
receiving apparatus 140 determines a time to display event information by
checking its current location and calculating a time needed to travel
from the current location to the event place, so that a user who views
the reminder can reach the event place by the event time.

[0111] The travel time calculating portion 158 receives location
information indicating a current location which is periodically acquired
by the location information acquiring portion 142 and calculates a travel
time from the place that is indicated by the location information to an
event place that is included in event information. The processing of
calculating a travel time is the same as the processing performed by the
travel time calculating portion 136 of the information delivery apparatus
120 according to the fifth embodiment described above and thus not
described in detail herein.

[0112] The display time determining portion 160 determines a time to
display event information (reminder) on the display portion 150 based on
the travel time which is calculated by the travel time calculating
portion 158 and the event time. The display time determining portion 160
according to this embodiment is an example of an output time determining
portion of the present invention, and the display portion 150 is an
example of an event information output portion of the present invention.
The processing of determining a display time is substantially the same as
the processing of determining a delivery time which is performed by the
delivery time determining portion 138 of the information delivery
apparatus 120 according to the fifth embodiment described above and thus
not described in detail herein. At a determined display time, the display
time determining portion 160 reads out the event information stored in
the event information storage portion 152 and displays the event
information on the display portion 150.

[0113] Referring next to FIG. 16, a reminder display process in the case
of using the information receiving apparatus 140 of FIG. 15 is described
hereinafter. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a flow of a reminder display
process which is executed by the information delivery system 100
according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[0115] Then, the travel time calculating portion 158 calculates a time
needed to travel from the current location of the information receiving
apparatus 140 which is acquired in the step S302 to an event place
included in the event information which is stored in the event
information storage portion 152 (step S304). Further, the display time
determining portion 160 determines a time to display the event
information as a reminder based on the necessary travel time which is
calculated in the step S304 (step S306).

[0116] Then, it is determined whether the calculated display time is
earlier than the current time, that is, whether the current time is
already past the display time (step S308). If the current time is already
past the display time, the information receiving apparatus 140 ends the
reminder display process. Alternatively, the information receiving
apparatus 140 may return to the step S302 and repeat the processing of
calculating a reminder display time based on newly acquired location
information.

[0117] On the other hand, if the display time is the current time or
later, that is, if the current time is not yet past the display time in
the step S308, the information receiving apparatus 140 waits until the
display time which is determined by the step S306 (step S310) and, at the
display time, reads out the event information from the event information
storage portion 152 and displays it on the display portion 150 (step
S312). After that, the information receiving apparatus 140 returns to the
step S302 and repeats the processing of calculating a reminder display
time based on newly acquired location information. Alternatively, it may
end the process so that a reminder is not displayed a plurality of times
for the event information for which the reminder has been displayed once.

[0118] Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention is
described in the foregoing with reference to the drawings, the present
invention is not limited thereto. It should be understood by those
skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations,
sub-combinations and alterations may occur depending on design
requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of
the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.